Course Information: Handbook For Additional Information
Course Information: Handbook For Additional Information
Course Information: Handbook For Additional Information
COURSE INFORMATION
Course Number: ENGL 1301
Course Title: Composition I
Course Description: Intensive study of and practice in writing processes, from invention and researching to drafting,
revising, and editing, both individually and collaboratively. Emphasis on effective rhetorical choices, including
audience, purpose, arrangement, and style. Focus on writing the academic essay as a vehicle for learning,
communicating, and critical analysis. Lab required.
Course Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Lab Hour:
1
Prerequisite: Meet TSI college-readiness standard for Reading and Writing; or equivalent
Student Learning Outcomes:
State-mandated outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes.
2. Develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution.
3. Write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose.
4. Read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts.
5. Use Edited American English in academic essays.
Additional Collin Outcome: Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to do the
following:
1. Demonstrate personal responsibility through the ethical use of intellectual property.
Withdrawal Policy: See the current Collin Registration Guide for the last day to withdraw.
Collin College Academic Policies: See the current Collin Student Handbook
The College District may initiate disciplinary proceedings against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty.
Scholastic dishonesty may involve, but is not limited to, one or more of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism,
collusion, use of annotated texts or teachers editions, use of information about exams posted on the Internet or electronic
medium, and/or falsifying academic records.
Collin faculty are required to report alleged violations of scholastic dishonesty to the Dean of Student Development,
who then investigates the case, and renders an administrative decision.
Faculty are not allowed to assign a grade to the work in question until the Dean of Student Development renders a
decision
Students found responsible for scholastic dishonesty offenses will receive an authorized disciplinary penalty from
the office of the Dean of Student Development.
Additionally, students found responsible for scholastic dishonesty will be assigned a penalty in this class that
ranges from a grade of F on the assignment to a grade of F for the course
Americans with Disabilities Act:
Collin College will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines
with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal opportunity. It is
the students responsibility to contact the ACCESS office, SCC-G200 or 972.881.5898 (V/TTD:
972.881.5950) to arrange for appropriate accommodations. See the current Collin Student
Handbook for additional information.
Religious Holy Days: Please refer to the current Collin Student Handbook.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Instructors Name: Sean Ferrier-Watson, Ph.D.
Office Number: D-120
Office Hours: TR 9:00-10:00AM; 3:00-4:00PM
MW 3:00-4:00PM
or by appointment
Phone Number: 972-516-5053
Email: sferrier-watson@collin.edu
Website: Canvas and www.seanferrierwatson.wordpress.com
Class Information
Section Number: 1301.S17
Meeting Times: MW 1:00-2:15PM
Meeting Location: SCC J132
Minimum Technology Requirement: Computer with internet access and ability to send emails and login to our
class website; it must also house appropriate writing software (i.e. compatible with Canvas and Microsoft Office
Word).
Minimum Student Tech Skills: Students are expected to be familiar with typing papers on a keyboard, surfing
the internet, and other basic computer literacies
Netiquette Expectations: Students are expected to send emails with clear subjects and appropriate signatures for
identification purposes; responses to emails should be expected within 48 hours during weekdays; emails will
rarely receive responses on weekends.
Course Resources
Textbooks:
Losh, Elizabeth, and Jonathan Alexander, ed. Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. Boston: Bedford,
2014. Print. ISBN: 978-0-312-64096-5.
Optional Texts:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers or Research Papers, 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of
America, 2009. Print. ISBN: 978-1-60329-024-1.
Other Texts:
Anything published to our classs Canvas account or website as marked on our weekly calendar.
Supplies
1. Three-ring binder for storing class work
2. Flash drive or other means (dropbox.com account, for example) of storing digital versions of essays and other written
material you generate (always, always keep a backup of everything you turn in!)
3. A valid, working Collin College email address that you check everyday
4. Regular access to a computer and internet (additional readings may be available online)
Method of Evaluation
As an expert in my field, I reserve the right to gauge writing on any scale or method my profession and college deem
acceptable. I will assign grades based on my best judgment as an experienced and qualified Professor of English.
Grade Scale:
A= 90 to 100
B= 80 to 89
C= 70 to 79
D= 60 to 69
F= 0 to 59
Participation/Attendance 10%
Participation may include class discussion, readiness for class, homework, attendance, or any other classroom activity.
Attendance is mandatory and vital to your grade. You cannot hope to pass the class without attending regularly. If a
student misses more than five classes, a deduction will be applied to the students participation grade. If a student misses
more than four weeks of class sessions, they can expect to fail for the semester. Attendance is an important part of your
grade, so please do not underestimate the attendance policy. Absences are considered to be unauthorized unless officially
sanctioned by the college. Students must present proof of the incident before an excuse will be issued. If, through a
misfortune, a student should arrive after roll has been recorded, it is the students responsibility to talk with me
immediately after class in order to discuss changing the unauthorized absence to a tardy. If tardies are frequent, they can
be counted as absences (three tardies equal one missed class). This policy also applies to leaving early unannounced. If a
problem is serious enough to miss a significant amount of class, then the student should consider dropping the course or
speaking with the college or appropriate dean.
Daily Writing Journal 15%
Daily journal entries are designed to help students engage the writing process on a daily basis. These response papers can
be handwritten or typed and should always be legible. I encourage students to write about what they have learned in the
previous class or respond to the reading for the day (I typically ask that students go beyond merely summarizing the
reading or class discussion on these entries). These papers are due before the end of class every class day listed below.
The average response paper should be roughly to 1 page in length. They are graded credit or no credit, which will be
indicated by a check or a zero. Late journal entries will not be accepted. The peer editing grade will be derived from the
peer editing workshops taking place before a major essay assignment is due. This grade will constitute half of the grade
for this category.
Peer Editing 10%
The peer editing grade will be derived from the peer editing workshops taking place before a major essay assignment is
due. Peer editing is an in-class activity that involves heavy reflection and revision on rough drafts of your essay
assignments. In order to receive full credit on peer editing days, students must bring in written materials to work with and
participate in group revision activities. If students fail to bring in the required materials, I may allow the student to assist
others in the revision process for half or partial credit, but such circumstances will be decided on a case by case basis.
Students consistently failing to participate or bring in materials might be counted absent or given no credit for the activity
at all. If students miss all peer editing days, further penalties may follow on the participation and attendance grade.
Students can also fail the class in such cases. Revision and group work is important to your grade and to the writing
process.
Lab 10%
The lab component is an integral part of this writing class. Over the course of the semester, you will need to complete a
combination of four selections from the list below. Lab work is not the same as regular daily coursework that you must
complete to stay on track for the class; it is, instead, designed as an additional writing-focused activity to help you
improve your writing throughout the term. During the semester, you will need to track and provide evidence of
completing these lab requirements outside of class on four occasions during the semester (the due dates for these are
shown on the schedule below). You will use the attached signature sheet to verify tutor sessions and events. The lab grade
can be earned by completing the following objectives before one of the due dates: complete a two page review of a movie
or event you have attended (i.e. concert, football game, etc.), complete an in-person or online writing center session, or
complete a Writing Center or library workshop. These are all completion assignments, meaning fulfilling the minimal
requirements for the assignments will count as 100%. Completing online writing center sessions or attending workshops is
easiest way to satisfy the requirement. The purpose of the lab component is to gain feedback about your
writing and scholarship from outside our classroom. If you complete an online writing center session or tutor-text, you
must print off the confirmation slip and return it to me in order to receive credit. Additional instructions and resources will
follow. Here is a link to access the Online Writing Lab (OWL): https://www.collin.edu/writingcenter/online.htm.
Essay #1: Conceptualizing Your Writing Process 10%
Writing is often a tough and strenuous process for new college students, but most students become comfortable with the
process after a little practice. The best way to start conceptualizing the way you write or to find your voice as an author is
to think critically about your own writing process. For your first essay, consider the writing you have done in the past and
discuss what frustrates you most about writing. Try to identify what you believe are the best and worst parts of your
writing process. Try to answer the following questions in your essay: What is your favorite thing about writing? What do
you hate most about writing? Do you have any strategies or techniques that are particularly helpful as you write? If you
had your choice, what kinds of things would you like to write about in school? The essay should be 1,000 words, double
spaced, in MLA format. You may rely on our readings and class discussions for resources for writing this paper. If you
quote or use other sources, a works cited page and in-text citation will be required.
Essay #2: Rethinking Scholastic Dishonesty 10%
Plagiarism is a concept that often baffles first-year college students. If students have heard of the term before, they
frequently believe it to mean only the word-for-word theft of anothers ideas or simply the failure to place quotation
marks around certain borrowed phrases. While these accounts can and do frequently represent acts of plagiarism, the term
in academe has a much broader, more nuanced meaning. To help you better understand the concept of plagiarism within
the academy, particularly as it applies to specific disciplines and their writing practices, I would like you to write a
plagiarism policy of 1,000 words. You should write this paper from the perspective of a school administration (keep in
mind all we have discussed about plagiarism). The paper should try to consider the following questions: How is
plagiarism defined? What do you consider plagiarism? How will you and your school enforce violations of your policy?
How would you keep your policy fair and balanced? You may rely on our readings and class discussions for resources for
writing this paper. The paper must follow MLA formatting guidelines for student writers. If you quote or use other
sources, a works cited page and in-text citation must be provided.
Essay #3: Visual Rhetoric in Modern Advertising 15%
Rhetorical fallacies are falsehoods told to intentionally mislead or distract an audience from critical flaws or shortcomings
in an argument, often masked as indisputable truths or legitimate and well-founded departures from the task at hand.
Fallacies have a long history in the discussion and study of rhetoric, harkening back to the ancient Greeks and beyond, but
they can also be found throughout modern times as well. We see fallacies employed in political debates, around the dinner
table, in classrooms, and just about anywhere else where arguments are being made, but ethical scholars and savvy
interlocutors try to avoid and unravel fallacies at all costs. This essay will call upon you to study the nature of modern
fallacies through examining the way they are used in advertising, especially the way images are adapted to mislead or
capture the attention of an audience. You will need to select an ad or series of ads and explain their use of rhetorical
fallacies, particularly their use of visual rhetoric. Drawing from our class discussions and readings, your essay should try
to answer the following questions: Who is the target audience of the ad? How do the ads you looked at attempt to
persuade their target audience? What kinds of fallacies appear in the ad? Do you believe they are being used effectively?
In other words, do you believe the ads actually con their target audiences? The completed assignment should be 1, 000
words in length, not including the works cited page. If sources are cited, a works cited page must appear.
Essay #4: Literacy Hero, Rebel, or Victim Narrative 15%
Using Bronwyn T. Williamss Heroes, Rebels, and Victims: Student Identities in Literacy Narratives and other literacy
scholars we have look at this semester as a lens, examine the way language, rhetoric and literacy have shaped your life
and writing. Try to identify yourself under Williamss theory of student writers and describe the experiences that led you
to this conclusion. The paper can take the form of a personal narrative (story) or first-person essay and cover the following
questions: What or who is the controlling agent(s) or sponsor(s) of your literacy practices? What events lead you to
believe this? What in your writing do you feel has been positively or negatively shaped by these events and practices?
Finally, how do you feel Williams and the other scholars we have studied have contributed to your understanding of your
own reading and writing practices? The completed assignment should be 1,450 words, not including the works cited page.
My policy is generally to return major grades at least two weeks after the assignment has been submitted, not including
assignments accepted after the deadline or works to be rewritten. On rare occasions, there may be an exception to this
return policy, but I will alert students immediately if such an occasion occurs. If you have not received an assignment by
the two-week deadline, it is your responsibility to contact me with your concerns. It is sometimes the case that students
have missed days when papers were returned or have missed an email indicating a change in the return date. A quick
email or conversation with me can easily clarify the matter, so please dont hesitate to contact me with your concerns.
With the exception of Essay #4, all major essays will have comments. If you dont see your comments, it is your
responsibility to alert me to the problem immediately. Canvas comments have frequently failed to show due to minor
glitches in the systema quick email to me can usually resolve these problems. Note: students are responsible for
learning how to retrieve their grades and comments from Canvas; I am not responsible for returning major grades by
email or in person. Finally, all class essays and writings assignments are held up to academic expectations of appropriate
research and argumentation.
Classroom Conduct
I expect all students to be respectful of me and their classmates while attending one of my class sessions. As such,
students should act civilly in my class and abide by the behavioral rules stipulate by Collin College in their student
handbook. Failure to do so might result in being asked to leave the room. Cell phones, laptop computers, and other
devices, if not being used for the class, may count as a distraction and may be viewed as disrespectful to your classmates
and myself. Anything deemed as an unnecessary distraction can also be grounds for dismissal. Please be considerate of
others when attending one of my classes and refrain from making inappropriate comments or insulting speech. This policy
of polite and appropriate discourse also applies to assignments and other forms of in-class writing. Failure to abide by
these stipulations can impact an assignment grade.
Grade Redemption Policy
On rare occasions, students in breach of any of the above policies or grading criteria may request a second chance under
the Grade Redemption Policy. Students may only qualify for this policy until mid-semester or on rare occasions longer. If
I deem your situation worthy of redemption, I will ask you to draw up a contract agreeing to our terms of redemption. If
you violate any part of this contract, I have the authority to declare the contract broken and assign you an F for the class. I
also retain the right to declare the contract null-and-void at any point in the semester. This policy is NOT a right. Student
contracts are only available at my discretion.
Hybrid Course Requirements
This course makes use of an online learning component provided by the Canvas platform, accessible by logging into
CougarWeb with the ID and password provided by the college. Our Canvas section will house readings, handouts,
gradebook(s), an assignment dropbox folder to submit essays, links to important websites and documents, and the class
syllabus. You are required to visit this site before every class to access the schedule and check for important updates and
announcements.
You will submit major essays and receive grades on them through this online platform and by using the assignment
dropbox feature. Criteria for grading and regulating essays are the same as listed above. Assignments are due at 11:59PM
on the day they are listed as due on the syllabus. The essay you submit is your official submission, meaning NO deletions
or multiple uploads, so only submit it if it is ready for my viewing.
Late work may be subject to penalty. Students are also responsible for turning in assignments in an Office Word friendly
format. If you encounter legitimate technical problems (error in the system) submitting on Canvas preventing you from
making the deadline, you are responsible for contacting the help desk and copying the professor on the subsequent email
chain as proof of the problem. Leniency will only be granted if a legitimate error has occurred. I do NOT consider being
unfamiliar with Canvas a legitimate excuse. All students are responsible for learning to operate their instructional material
and find the means to access Canvas.
Note: the Canvas grade-book does NOT reflect your official grade for the class, but merely the average of your
major essay gradesparticipation, attendance, the daily writing journal, and the portfolio grade will NOT be
reflected in this grade-book.
Course Calendar:
Spring 2017
UR=Understanding Rhetoric
CANV.=Canvas
LC=Lab Credit Due (review options above)
January
Week 1
18 First Day!
Class Introduction
Review of Syllabus & Class Schedule
Assign Peer Groups
Homework: upload two sentence bio to Canvas
Week 2
23 Rhetorical Situation & Rhetoric Through the Ages
1 Reading Critically
Strategic Reading, pp. 67-103
Activity and Discussion
Submit Journal Entry #4
Week 4
6 Formatting and Submitting a College Paper
How to get the paper ready
What to do with comments in the revision process
Rethinking Revision, pp. 217-230
Submit Journal Entry #5
LC1: submit lab credit 25%
8 Proofreading & Peer Review
Week 5
13 Mandatory Student Conferencing
Meet in my office (D120) during scheduled appointment
Will count as participation/attendance/journal entry
No classroom meeting on this date, so please do not go to our class
15 Mandatory Student Conferencing
Meet in my office (D120) during scheduled appointment
Will count as participation/attendance/journal entry
No classroom meeting on this date, so please do not go to our class
Week 6
20 Understanding Plagiarism
How to Fight College Cheating, Lawrence M. Hinman (CANV.)
Week 9
20 Visual Literacy
Heroes, Rebels, and Victims: Student Identities in Literacy Narratives, Bronwyn T. Williams
(CANV.)
Submit Journal Entry #16
12 Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Student Research Conference
Attend sessions in Collin College Conference Center
No formal class meeting
Extra Credit Opportunity
Week 13
17 Literacy Practices
Week 14
24 Literacy in Parts